Events Leading up to the Russian Revolution

A paper which deals with the political and economical events leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917.

A paper which asserts that it was repeated wars, culminating with devastating internal effects of World War I that made it possible for the process of bringing Russia into step politically and economically with the rest of the world to be interrupted, and for Russia to go off in a new and more startling direction: the world’s first country governed by Communist totalitarianism.

Allen (2002) quotes a biographer about Lenin’s comments regarding the revolt of 1905. According to this source, Lenin said, It [the revolt of 1905] was the great rehearsal, a blueprint for the revolution of 1917. This seems an accurate description. The growing Communist movement learned how to maneuver politically and how to capitalize on the fallout that comes from war. Although this revolt by itself did not overthrow the Czarist aristocracy, Nicholas II gained only temporary control over the revolutionaries. His failure to recognize this fully was another contributing factor to the Communist success in 1917.